Dimensional Doctors 2 of 3: Addicted to Each Other
by Malin-Pedersen
Summary: Second in Dimensional Doctor series. The Doctor has taken care of Emma since she was 11. He loves her like a daughter, but could that change into something else? Features the 8th Doctor DoctorOC
1. Where Has The Time Gone?

**This is the second in the series of The Dimensional Doctors and features the Eighth Doctor and my own character Emma Owens. If you haven't read the first one which involves Rose, the 9th Doctor and Emma then I suggest you do so cause it will help you get the idea of what I'm doing here :D **

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I don't own the eighth Doctor or that funky blue police box that he flies about in but if I did, he'd never leave ;-) lol. All the enjoyment of owning them belongs to the people at the BBC.

Please read and review this story because it's my baby and I want to know what you think.

The Dimensional Doctor 2 of 3: Addicted To Each Other

Chapter 1: Where Has The Time Gone?

Everything was quiet within the many walls of the Doctor's TARDIS which was just the way that he liked it. True enough sometimes he could get very bored of polite silence and welcomed the loud thuddings and high screeches of loud jazz music coming from Fitz's speakers in his room or the sound of Fitz and Emma running up and down the corridors, screaming and giggling, playing tickle tag. A game that Emma invented one day when very bored and had many times tried to get the Doctor involved in. After a while she had stopped going after him as he always succeeded at catching her and tickling her until she fell over in a heap, her eyes streaming with tears.

She had complained saying that it wasn't fair because he was taller than her and heavier than her which gave him an advantage. This of course was pure codswallop as he was no taller than her and wasn't that much heavier which he had pointed out, earning him a hand full of jelly babies to be thrown at him from across the room.

No, at other times those would be welcome sounds but today the Doctor could think of nothing better than sitting in a comfy chair in the control room with his favourite book, a cup of tea and a bag of jelly babies. The Doctor sighed, smiling to himself and taking a sip of his tea, so glad that Fitz's had decided that he wanted to go to a few pubs on Earth in the year 2000, taking Emma with him.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Emma and Fitz's had only been gone about an hour and already the Doctor was bored. He had finished his book and his tea long ago and that was when the boredom had started to settle in. He had fidgeted about a bit, tidying up the mess of the different shoes and tops that Emma had gone through while trying to decide what to wear, leaving the discarded items lying around. The Doctor had sat about for a bit after that until he couldn't take it anymore. The silence was just too much and it was becoming almost deafening. The Doctor saw nothing to be done about it apart from grabbing his green, velvet frockcoat and making a run for it.

It didn't take him long to locate his two companions as they hadn't strayed very far. The Doctor had landed them in some obscure little town in the middle of Northern America. It was called Dodgeville or Diggsville or some sort of ville anyway. Fitz had said that he didn't care where they went as long as it had a pub or bar where he could go and get completely and utterly off his face. He liked to do that every once and while because it was something that he and his mates back from his own time used to do. Emma had just wanted to go because as much as she loved spending time inside the TARDIS having spent more years than she would care to remember inside it, she was now 25 and no longer 11 and she now wanted to go on nights out and drink with her friends to her hearts desire. Plus someone had to keep an eye on Fitz.

The Doctor found them in a bar at the other end of the town. It was defiantly a place that they would go as loud music and bright, flashing lights where coming from the door. Even though Emma had never really grown up on Earth she still acted like those of her age and of her time but just that bit more grow up. It was surprising she turned out like that after spending her late childhood and teenage years with a 900 year-old alien and his time machine.

The Time Lord stepped into the bar and was almost knocked off his feet by the smell of cigarette smoke and stale alcohol. He had thought that the music was loud when he was standing outside but it was so loud now that he was inside that he feared his ear drums might burst. It was after thinking this that the Doctor straightened up, if either Emma or Fitz saw him now they would think him to be an old fuddy-duddy and no fun which just wouldn't do.

Everywhere the Doctor looked he saw a sea of cramped bodies dancing to the music, trying to get closer to the bar from more drink and trying to get closer to someone for a snog. Not many people had noticed him enter apart from a few very drunk men at the door and a table surrounded by teenage girls wearing mini skirts and lots of make-up who where eyeing him up and giggling. The Doctor gave them a dashing smile and a small bow which made them giggle even more.

He continued to scan the sea of bodies until he found Fitz who seemed to be having this energetic conversation with some man who kept on putting shots in front of them. Emma was no where to be seen which worried the Doctor. Fitz was under instructions to keep an eye on her but he wasn't doing that at all and she was meant to be keeping an eye on Fitz.

"Fitz." The Doctor shouted as he made his way towards him so that he could be heard over the music.

"Ah and here he is!" said the jolly Fitz to the man beside him before turning towards the Doctor, drunkenly, "The Great and Wonderful Doctor. Who for all his wisdom can't see things passed the end of his ears." hiccupped Fitz as he giggled like those girls at the table near the door.

"Nose Fitz."

"Wha?" Fitz rubbed at his nose thinking that the Doctor had meant that there was something on his nose rather than correcting him.

"The expression is 'Past the end of his nose' Fitz, not ears."

"Oh." said Fitz absently as he swayed back and forward, inspecting the button on his sleeve. The Doctor put his hands on Fitz's shoulders gently and slowly guided him back down into his seat at the bar so that he wouldn't't fall over.

"Fitz where's Emma? Weren't you supposed to be keeping an eye on her?" asked the Doctor, still holding onto the younger man's shoulders.

"You know I'm not too sure but she's bound to be around here somewhere and I'm sure she'd be glad to see you, she always is. Her face just lights up whenever she sees you." Fitz smirked and went back to downing a few more shot glasses. Had this been a different situation the Doctor would have gladly stopped Fitz from drinking anymore so that his hangover would be less severe. But the old Earth saying cropped into his head 'Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.' Fitz would be his own punishment in the morning for drinking so much.

The Doctor walked away from Fitz looked around him, looking for the familiar long, blonde hair of his young friend. What he thought would only take a minute or two took at least 10 as there were so many young girls of Emma's age that had the same style of hair as she. Emma had recently had her very long hair cut and razored to just below her shoulders. She styled it now so that it was smooth, straight and was jagged, each layer visible and framing her face beautifully.

Eventually he saw her, huddled into a corner booth, sipping at what looked like orange juice but what would probably have white rum or vodka in it. He smiled, watching her and she pretended to be listening to what some guy was say, obviously trying to chat her up. Emma was so different now to the scrawny, dirt covered and terrified little child that he had found on Earth in the year 2007, over 14 years before. Was it really that many years? Where had the time gone? In many ways the Doctor knew that she shouldn't be here…that she should have died that day…

_XxX12th October 2007, Earth, The Final and Brutal Attack of the Phantom Armies of MerivasXxX _

The brightness of the lightening crashed across the sky closely followed by the boom of the thunder, almost masking the sound of the falling bombs from overhead. The heavens had opened when the armies had begun to land and march upon all the cities of Earth, destroying everything and everyone in sight. Roads turned to thick mud within minutes of the rain starting making it almost hopeless for the elderly to make an escape with their families, many ordering their children and grandchildren to run for their lives while they locked themselves inside and hoped not to be found.

There were bodies everywhere you looked and mothers hid their children's eyes from them as they tried to make an escape anyway that was possible. They all knew that it was hopeless as nothing that the human race possessed could ever stop the Phantoms from destroying everything that there was, is and ever will be. The last time that they had attacked the human population had been cut into half of what it was in 2005, whole families swept away in one single night of death , blood and horror. It was worse than any war that had been waged by humans against each other.

The Doctor knew full well that he shouldn't be there but a distress signal coming from Earth had been too much for the TARDIS and he to resist. The signal had come from Katy Owens, a woman who the Doctor had known since birth and had protected her from her mother, taking her to her aunts when her mother had become so brutal in her treatment of the girl that it had become to much for him to bear. He thought of Katy a daughter and one of his own, even going as far as to give her away at her wedding during his last regeneration.

The message had been distorted and very hazy but the Doctor had made out that what little government that there was left had fallen, the worlds armed forces had disbanded allowing the invading aliens free rein over the land. Katy needed him to come and meet her in Colorado Springs and that he was to hurry.

The Doctor ran through the streets where Katy lived. The pelting rain stinging his face as he passed by wreaked and mere shells of buildings. He tried not to look at the hundreds of bodies the were strewn about in the mud, many face down with gaping wounds in their backs while others where face up, eyes wide, showing the last ever emotion they felt as the life was blasted away from their bodies. They were all staring lifeless at the stormy sky.

He was fast approaching the point where Katy said that she would meet him and he hoped and prayed that she was there, alive and waiting for him. He knew that she would beg him to help them, to summon the Time Lords and stop all this. But he couldn't. Katy didn't know that they were all dead and he, his own race's destroyer, was all that was left. The Doctor reached the ruins of the Library that she had said and he waited…and waited…and waited.

Absolute terror was rising in his gut now, like rancid bile forcing it's way up his throat. He would not and could not think of what might have happened to her. Never could he think her dead, she was too smart and strong for that. He just had to believe that she and her husband were alive.

"Katy!" shouted the Doctor, his voice straining to be heard over the fierce wind that was now howling around him, pulling at his coat as if trying to tare it from him. He screamed her name over and over again as he hoped and prayed to hear a reply. But instead of hearing his name being called back to him he heard the fearful and desperate cries of a child being carried on the wind. The Doctor raced towards the sounds and quickly found a small human girl barely 10 or 11 years old, tears streaming down her cheeks as she screamed her lungs out and clung to the smouldering corpse beside her. The girl looked straight at the Doctor but she still continued to cry, screaming, "Mommy come back! Mommy don't leave me!"

The Doctor's gaze fell upon the body. It was so badly burned that it was hardly recognisable as being human let alone being either of the sexes. The face had caved in and was charred due to energy blast. It was now obvious that this women had shielded her child and taken the full force of a death bow. Something was different now, he could feel it. The Doctor looked at the girl again and finally realised what it was. She wasn't screaming anymore but merely shaking in fear and her screams were replaced by the sound of marching feet drawing closer to them.

He made a quick decision and scooped the girl up in his arms after prising her small fingers from the body of her dead mother. The little girl wrapped her arms and legs around him instinctively so that he wouldn't drop her and she buried her head into his shoulder, shielding her view with hair and velvet. She was very brave after that. She didn't cry or shake she just gripped onto the back of his coat and stayed quiet, allowing the Doctor to think without any distractions.

As soon as he started running away they where under fire as the soldiers coming up fast behind them. They were quick but he was quicker. He dodged back and forwards as energy blasts missed him and the girl barely, throwing mud and water up into the air and covering them in it. A thousand an one thoughts flashed through the Doctors mind as he ran back towards where the TARDIS was. His hearts were pounding and his chest tightened and he gasped for more air, willing himself to go faster.

Finally the familiar blue box that the Doctor called home came into view and he could honestly say that he had never been more glad to see the old girl. This gave him new life and energy, he ran on faster than ever, still holding onto the girl while he raked in his coat pocket for the TARDIS key. He reached the door, skidding in the mud trying to stop. The Doctor searched in both of his pockets for it but they were void of any key. He continued to search certain that it was in one of them.

The Doctor was startled when the girl started looking in the pockets on the insides of his coat and within seconds she pulled out a small silver key hanging from a silver chain. The Doctor smiled broadly and kissed her on the cheek. The Earth phrase "Ask a child now, while they still know everything" came to mind as he began to unlock the door. He ducked down and the girl yelped out as if in pain when a blast hit the TARDIS just a few inches away from their heads. He gripped the girl closer to him as he finally managed to open the door and slammed it shut, locking it behind him. Every so often muffled bangs could be heard as energy blasts hit against the outer shell of the TARDIS but the Doctor knew that they were safe.

It took him a second or two to get his breath back. He stared at the door as he stood in the darkness, clutching still to the little human child in his arms. One of her hands was gripping onto the velvet of the back of his coat and the other hand a fist full of his hair. He could feel her shaking all over but knew that it was probably caused by the fact that she was sodden wet and freezing rather than from fear. The Doctor placed her down in a near by chair then pulled back to make sure she was ok. She had no cuts or bruises and she appeared to be fine.

"You alright?" he said, his voice soft and gentle as held onto her hands, rubbing them to try and bring warmth back to them. The only problem with that was that he was soaked to so it was just cold and wet rubbing against cold and wet.

The girl nodded as she gave him a small fleeting smile, still shaking. The Doctor smiled at her and picked up the small bowl of jelly babies that were sitting on the table next to them, "Here. Have some of these…they'll make you feel better." The girl took the bowl in her hands and popped one of the brightly coloured sweets into her mouth as the Doctor went to the controls. He flicked switches here and there, pressed buttons and pulled levers. The lights in the room came up and the temperature increased within the room.

"Are you the Doctor?" said a quiet, little, American voice from behind him. The girl had gotten out of her chair and walked up behind him, a battered and soggy letter in her hand.

"Yes I am Sweetling. What's your name then?" he crouched down so that his face was level with hers, a charming grin on his face.

"Emma-Lee Owens sir." The Doctors face dropped and he stared into Emma's eyes. Yes looking at her now he could tell that she was Katy and Jack's daughter. She had Jack's stark straight, blonde hair that was right now dirty as anything with mud and weeks of dirt clinging to it. She had Katy's beautiful eyes. Eyes that when Katy had been a baby the Doctor could look into for hours. Katy's had been blue but Emma's were the most beautiful and deepest hazel that he had ever seen. Her skin as so smooth and pale that she seemed like a china doll. She tall for her age group but not much taller, her skinny legs seemed almost like splinters going into those heavy army boots that she was wearing. Looking at her properly the Doctor could tell that she probably hadn't been eating much in the last few weeks as her legs and arms were bony and her face did not have the jolly plumpness that most of her age would.

The Doctor now understood that it had been Katy that the young girl in front of him had been clinging onto. He felt like his hearts were bleeding as he stared at Emma. His hearts bled not only for Katy but for Emma, he knew what it was like to lose parents, family. He knew what it was like to be alone. She had no expression on her face, she just looked back at him. The Doctor almost jumped when she finally spoke, "My mom wants…wanted…me to give this to you should she…" Emma trailed off as she handed the soggy letter to him and then she sat back down and returned to eating the jelly babies, leaving muddy foot prints where she trod.

The Doctor opened the letter and read the last wishes of one of his dearest friends.

To my dearest Doctor,

So much has gone on since you last said goodbye to us in much happier and safer times. I tried for so many years to get in touch with you but it seems that the TARDIS could not relay my messages to you. A malfunction perhaps?

Since you left I had a child, a little girl who is probably standing in front of you. Probably eating from a bag of jelly babies if I know you. ;-) Also in the time that you have been gone we have been attacked by a hostile alien army. They've destroyed everything that we have worked so hard for. With days of the first attack most of the worlds governments had fallen leaving us without leadership. Jack, being an air force man to the last, continued to fight and died doing so, leaving myself and our daughter, Emma, alone in this world.

I beg you Doctor to take her far away from Earth, away from harm and bad memories. Find her a planet, a home…parents. People who can raise her and take care of her and can give her a life that I never got the chance to. I've told her to be good so I don't think she will be any trouble. Please tell her that I love her so much and it is for her benefit that I do this.

I have to end this letter here because funnily enough I'm going to meet you, but I highly doubt that I will.

I love you my dear, dear friend.

All my love

Katy

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

He had not done what Katy had asked. The Doctor had not taken the orphaned child to some point far in Earth's future where all was right again and she would be safe. At the start he had every intention of doing so but this girl, this wonder, she grew on him. She offered so much more fulfilling company then anyone that he had met and for once it truly was about showing her and teaching her about the universe instead of the universe doing something for her. Emma had told him many years later that she had no intention of going back and saving her mother or even to stop the Phantom armies from invading. She saw the point to that rule of not going back to you own past when others had merely read it and pushed it to the side.

The Doctor stood there, amid the noise and the smoke, smiling to himself as he watched Emma. He knew that Katy would be so proud of her daughter, just as he was. Emma was extremely funny, witty, intelligent, devastatingly beautiful and she was a dear and loyal friend to him. She had seen companions come and go over the years and although she had shed a few tears when some left she never asked to leave and go with them.

The Doctor was so off in his own little dream world that he didn't notice that Emma was looking straight at him and waving him over. He shook himself inwardly as he wandered over to Emma, taking the seat which the young man had just vacated and was greeted with a warm smile.

"Hi." shouted Emma over the music, still smiling, "I thought you wanted to stay back at the TARDIS?"

Emma moved close to the Doctor so that he could talk in her ear and stop this shouting business, "I did but it got very boring." he said as he pulled a face and Emma just rolled her eyes. "And besides it seems that all the fun is here." The Doctor was looking over at the bar at where Fitz was. Both he and Emma burst in fits of giggles as they saw Fitz dancing on the bar and singing drunkenly to Lady Marmalade.

"It seems that you have not been attending to you chaperoning duties Emma." The Doctor said wagging a finger at her and raising his eyebrows.

"I know but believe me I tried." Emma put up her hands in defeat, "The second we got in here he went straight to the bar and ordered a pint of bitter and a vodka shot!" her voice became an almost high pitched squeak as she spoke. The Doctor was still looking at the spectacle that was Fritz and finding it hard to look away and not to laugh as the man pulled up one of the giggling girls and dancing with her. "I blame you."

The Doctor's head snapped round back at Emma, "What do you mean by that?" he said in that childish little way that he always did. It was never annoying or anything it just made him seem so…so…it was just something that Emma couldn't put her finger onto.

"Well you keep him cooped up in the TARDIS the whole time and you're always getting us into one dangerous situation after another!" Emma poked him in the ribs as she jested with him. The Doctor merely gave her a haunty look and stuck his tongue out.

"It is not by my doing that we end up in dangerous situations. It's your races almost wilful aim to get yourselves blown up, eaten, boiled or turned into a slave. It is not my fault but yet I seem to always be the one to get you out of such situations." Emma said nothing as she put her arm through his and rested her head on his velvet covered shoulder.

The noise was getting to her now and she was starting to get a head ache. When she was little she had always hated this music and it still drove her mad. There was just no point to it at all. All that it consisted of was an arrangement of loud and harsh thumps repeated over and over. Her Uncle James had loved it and played it all the time. Seemingly he had played it to her cousin, Adam, when he was still in the womb. That was probably why he had turned out to be such a freak. Emma had never liked Adam as he had this tendency to sneak in her room and take anything that she really loved or had sentimental value. He had gotten into so much trouble when his mother had found half of Emma's toys hidden in a box under his bed.

"You tired Sweet-Lee?" asked the Doctor, calling her by his pet name for her. He could get her to do anything when he called her that. It was sort of his warning for when he wanted her to be good and do as she told but he also used it in a affectionate way. All he would have to say would be 'Please don't touch that Sweet-Lee' and she would stay well clear of it. Emma shook her head gently so not to make her headache worse.

"Have a headache is all." There was silence between them both as the Doctor took his arm away from Emma's grasp and draped it over her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. Emma just loved moments like this with the Doctor. She missed sleeping in his bed every night, cuddled up to him from the age of 11 to 14 because she had nightmares. It was the cuddles she missed, not the nightmares. When she had first met him and for many years after she always thought of him as her handsome, funny and incredibly smart guardian angel who would nearly always drop everything just to play games with her or take her to the beach on some far off planet where she could swim and play in the sand. As she grew older and by the time she was 20 he was now this wonderful, gorgeous man who could make her laugh with just a smile and made her feel like whatever she said actually meant something to him, that he valued her opinion.

Anji had been the first to notice. She had said that it was so obvious how Emma felt about the Doctor. It was obvious to everyone except the Doctor himself of course. Fitz had offered countless times to talk to him but Emma had threatened him with smashing up all his jazz records which had shut him up. As much as Emma fancied the Doctor, as Fritz put it, she didn't want to tell him for fear of him changing towards her leading to her leaving.

"You want to leave?"

"What? Oh...yeah I wouldn't mind going back home now. As much as I like going out I just don't think this place is for me." Emma finished off her vodka and orange and picked up her bag. She felt the smallest of shivers go through her as the Doctor wrapped her shawl around her, enveloping her in a gentle hug.

"I agree. This place is a little behind for you. We really should have gone to the 40th Century. Musics a lot better then." said the Doctor smiling brightly at her as he offered her his arm. "Shall we?"

"Sure but there's just one problem." Emma pointed to Fitz who was still dancing about on the bar getting cheers and wolf whistles alike. The Doctor shook his head before telling Emma to wait just a minute while he had a little chat with the bar keep. He returned a few minutes later with a smile on his face as he held out his arm to Emma again.

"It's sorted." he said as he lead her towards the door, leaving the noisy crowd of people behind them.

"But what about Fitz? He's so drunk that he can barely stand let a lone make his way back to the TARDIS." They where now out of the bar and strolling down the street under the full moon and the stars.

"It's alright. I noticed that there was a hotel next door and asked him to send Fitz over there when he was either done drinking or they closed for the night." The Doctor gave her a cheeky little grin, seemingly being very pleased with himself. "It means that we can leave and go back to the TARDIS and not having to wait on Fitz for hours on end and also meaning that when we get back we can watch a film without him asking questions every 5 seconds." His grin turned into a bright smile as he opened the door of the TARDIS for Emma. Yes she truly was no longer the child that used to cuddle up to him when she had nightmares. In some ways he missed not having her creep into his room, whispering to him that she'd had a nightmare as he pulled her beside him, Emma laying her head in his chest and falling asleep almost instantly. He missed the cuddles.


	2. Is Love On Both Sides?

**This is the second chapter to my 8th Doctor story and I so promise that there will be a lot more dialogue in this one, I know that I have the tendency to jabber on with description and not much speech. Please, please review my story because I so want to know what you think of it. Whether it be a review of praise or not I want to know**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Doctor Who or the TARDIS and I am merely writing this story for my own enjoyment and that of others.**

**These series of stories are dedicated to my mate Ben otherwise known as Drwho42. He's going to appear in all three of The Dimensional Doctors series :D**

**Hobgoblin: you are the best reviewer ever! I love you lol. Hope that this chappy meets your standards :D **

The Dimensional Doctors 2 of 3: Addicted to Each Other

Chapter 2: Is Love on Both Sides?

It was round about 9 am when Fitz began to make his way back to the TARDIS again. He staggered this way and that as the fog that clouded his brain prevented him from using his legs properly. He must have had a brilliant time because he could only remember half of it. Fitz could defiantly remember arriving with Emma at the bar and dancing with her for a little bit before he met this lad who he could of sworn he knew as a baby. He remembered chatting to this guy for a long time and always looking at the bottom of an empty shot glass. Fritz vaguely remembered talking to the Doctor about ears for some reason and also he couldn't get the song Lady Mamalade out of his head.

The last thing that he could remember was seeing the Doctor and Emma arm in arm on their way out. He remembered thinking to himself just how good they looked together. To normal human bystanders they would probably be two star crossed lovers going off home after a lovely evening in each others company. They always looked like that when they where arm in arm or holding hands. Fitz knew that there was nothing behind it on the Doctor's part but he couldn't help but remember that Emma had always carried a torch for the Doctor.

It was a shame that the Doctor didn't really notice her because she was absolutely gorgeous and if Fitz had been a few years younger then he would quite happily asked Emma out.

It took Fitz a little while to locate the TARDIS key within his pocket and an even longer while for him to actually open the door without snapping the key in the lock. As Fitz almost fell through the doorway of the TARDIS he was met with complete and utter darkness. For a second or two he was very confused and checked his watch. Yes it was about 10 in the morning now and it everything was off and dark. This was very unlike the Doctor and Emma as they where both usually up (if the Doctor ever actually slept) by round about 7 or 8 and when Fitz emerged at 11 they would have had breakfast already and be moving on to having lunch.

Fitz stood at the entrance of the TARDIS for a second as he listened for any noises echoing through the large ship. Mostly all he could hear was the sound of his heart beat and his breathing but far off in the distance he could hear voices and music coming from what Emma called the Rec Room. As Fitz drew closer to the room he could clearly hear the sounds so some sort of film being played on the wide screen TV that they had.

Fitz slowly opened to door to reveal the film as The Life and Death of Peter Sellers and the Doctor had Emma's head resting on his lap as she slept and as he stroked her hair, his eyes never leaving the screen as they sat in total darkness apart from the light coming from the TV. "Hey." said Fitz softly, not wanting to wake Emma up. She looked so cute and peaceful when she was asleep.

"Oh!" jumped the Doctor, making Emma move about in her sleep. "Why if it isn't the walking dead." chuckled the Doctor softly, his voice dropping low so that it was only as loud at the TV. It was true that Fritz did look rather dishevelled and frankly quiet minging, to use a word Emma would use, due to the fact that he was covered in various alcohol stains, his hair was all over the place and there where dark circles under his eyes. Fitz's smiled sheepishly as he ran a hand through his hair, trying to tame it a bit.

"Why are you two here and not buzzing about like you usually do?" Fitz yawned looking from the Doctor to Emma, "And why is Emma still wearing the same clothes that she had on last night?" Emma turned in her sleep so that her head was now lying on the Doctor's stomach and she sighed contently. The Doctor's coat was draped over her but Fitz could still see that she was still wearing her strapless turquoise silk dress with all the oriental flowers stitched into it with golden thread and that her sea green high healed shoes, which she had gotten in the 1930's, were lying on the floor by the Doctor's feet. The dress had come to just below her knees when she had been standing up but was now well above them which was why the Doctor had put her shawl over her legs so that she wouldn't get cold.

"Well Emma and I got back here at about 1 this morning after leaving you at the bar and we decided to watch some films. You know, those ones Emma was always harping on about saying that I just had to see them." said the Doctor sarcastically as he pointed out the massive pile of DVD boxes ranging from titles like The Pink Panther to Bram Stoker's Dracula.

"You watched all of these and didn't get bored?."

"We didn't really watch they more like talked through them. Emma fell asleep about an hour or so ago so I thought I'd just sit here and wait for her to wake up." The Doctor stroked her cheek affectionately before he gently lifted her head up and slid out from under her. He put a pillow under her head as he gently placed back down. "I'm parched, fancy a cup of tea?"

Fitz just looked at him, "Ah well a cup of tea for me and a strong black coffee and lots of it for you Fitz I think." The Doctor quietly turned off the TV and closed the door behind them, leaving the Rec Room in darkness.

It took them a while to find the kitchen as the TADRIS had moved most of the rooms around again meaning that they had to climb almost 4 flights of stairs to get to it. Fitz plonked himself down in a chair at the table as the Doctor moved this way and that, humming to himself while he made the tea and coffee.

They stayed in a comfortable silence for a while as Fitz pondered something. Did Emma want to know how the Doctor felt about her? Did she really mean it when she said that she would personally burn all his records until there was nothing left if he so much as hinted to the Doctor about her. He watched the Doctor as he set both of the cups onto the table and sat down, blowing slightly into his cup before taking a drink.

"What?" said the Doctor as he noticed Fitz staring at him, "Have I got something hanging from my nose or have I got a gigantic pimple in the middle of my forehead?" Fitz rolled his eyes as he took a sip from his coffee, Whoa this is strong, thought Fitz, I'll be awake for days after this.

Fitz coughed slightly to clear his throat before he spoke, deciding just to come out with it, "What do you think of Emma?" The Doctor's head shot up from his cup to look straight at Fitz.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean like…what do you think of her? Like do you think of her as a friend or a daughter or possibly…a girlfriend?" For some reason Fitz felt extremely strange and nervous about asking the Doctor this and had began fiddling with his lighter. Clicking it's metal shutter open and shut again inside his pocket.

The Doctor looked at Fitz, confused , "What on Earth has brought this on?" he chuckled and shook his head as he got up to put his already empty tea cup into the sink, "If it's your want to ask Emma out then it is of no business of mine but to be fair Fitz she is very out of your league." The Doctor smiled cheekily at Fitz while sticking his hand into the biscuit tin an pulling out a chocolate covered Hobnob.

"I know that without having to look at her." laughed Fitz, "It's just that can you honestly say that you've never thought about her in any other way besides a friend? Can you really tell me you've never seen the way her whole face lights up whenever she sees you or that she didn't dye her hair pink like she wanted to because you thought it wouldn't suit her or that she wears that shimmery turquoise green eyeshodow every day because you thought it brought out her eyes?"

There was a very confused silence coming from the Doctor and he continued to remain silent, as if waiting for Fitz to say more.

"For God's sake Doctor the girls crazy about you!" he finally blurted out. Fitz was kicking himself inside the second that he had stopped talking. He had defiantly dropped Emma right in it. It was now time to say buh-bye to his Beatles records.

Fitz stared at his feet for a moment or two before he dared to look towards the Time Lord standing beside the sink. The Doctor's mouth hung open slightly, showing off the half eaten biscuit in his mouth but after a few seconds it closed and a small smile tugged at his lips, "I just thought that she valued what I said and that she just agreed with me that she suited her hair the way it was." There was a seconds silence before the Doctor spoke again, "How long have you known she's felt like this?"

It was almost impossible to read him now. The Doctors arms were crossed and he was leaning back against the counter as he looked at Fitz. The other man had to look away and began playing with his silver lighter again. He could feel the Doctor's eyes burning into the side of his head as he waited for an answer. Fitz didn't know what to say by this point and wished that he could take back what he had said. He sighed and decided that it was out now so it was best to give the Doctor the full story.

"She's been feeling this way for a couple of years I think. Anji was the first to notice and she talked to her about it." Fitz dared to look up at the Doctor and was relieved to find that he was now staring at the floor. "After that it was clear that she just adored you but she said she'd never say because she didn't want to leave. Didn't want there with be tension between the two of you which would make her leave here because this, to her, is the only place left that she has to call home.

To tell the truth if it had been me who had feelings for someone who'd rescued me and who I'd known most of my life I don't think I could have coped. I'd probably wouldn't be able to last 5 minutes without grabbing that person and snogging them for dear life." The Doctor smiled, "But Emma did, she kept it together for your sake as well as her own. She said that the other reason that she didn't want to leave was because she didn't want you to be on your own again, she didn't want you to be lonely. Frankly if you ask me I think that this has gone way past a simple crush. I really think that she loves you and would do anything for you to make you feel better or to help you."

A stunned silence was coming from the Time Lord and his voice sounded a mixture of confusion and amusement when he spoke, "I can't believe that I never noticed. I guess it just shows you how alien I am if I can't even tell what one of my dearest friend is feeling. And I thought Gallfiryian women were hard to understand." The Doctor let out a sigh that had matched Fitz's as he ran a hand through his hair. A flicker of realisation came over the Doctor's face as something dawned on him, "Is that why you said it?"

Now it was Fitz's turn to be confused, "Said what?"

"What you said to me last night?"

Fitz chuckled and turned in his seat, "Doctor I can't even remember where I slept last night so what makes you think I'd remember something like that." The faintest, warm smile flitted across the Doctor's lips .

"Last night when I came to you at the bar you said 'The Great and Wonderful Doctor. Who for all his wisdom can't see things passed the end of his ears.'" The Doctor laughed quietly to himself, "You said it because you were so drunk you hadn't a clue that it still mattered to keep it secret."

Fitz couldn't help himself but laugh, "I have a tendency to do that don't I." There was a small pause, "So what you going to do about Emma?"

The Doctor opened his mouth to answer but he quickly shut it again as the kitchen door opened and a rather dishevelled and disorderly looking Emma appeared in the doorway. She was still wearing her dress which was now covered in creases but she hid that by wearing the Doctor's coat. Emma smiled sleepily at them both as she made her way towards the kettle to put it back on the boil.

"Sleep well?" asked the Doctor. There was no indication in the Doctor's manner that showed that what he had just heard had bothered him and he seemed completely normal. But when was he ever completely normal?

Emma yawned and stretched out, "Sorta. That's the first time I've slept on that couch and I'll tell you something, it'll be the last time to." She took her own special tea cup out of the cupboard and plopped a peppermint tea bag into it.

Fitz's eyes darted from Emma back to the Doctor, trying to see if anything was going to happen. After the first few darts his eyes caught with the Doctor's who raised his eyebrows at him expectantly. That's my cue to leave, he thought as he got up. "Ah look at that time. I better go get a shower or something. Might just toddle off to bed for a few hours just to recover. Leave you two to chat."

Emma inclined her head in Fitz's direction, not seeming to notice the tad tone of embarrassment in his voice, "Ok hope you feel better Fitz." she said as she continued to make her tea and Fitz made his way back to his room.

Before she had any idea of what was happening the Doctor had pulled her hands away from what they where doing and had wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling her into a hug. She smiled as he buried his head into her hair. Emma laughed softly to herself as she was reminded that she had done the same to him when Sabbath had taken one of his hearts.

XxXxXxXxXxX

_Emma walked into the kitchen to find the Doctor there. By all means he should be in bed, resting like she had ordered him to do. The Doctor was still only half dressed as she had left him. His coat, waistcoat and cravat missing and his shirt loose and un-tucked. His hair was tussled and there were bits of it sticking out in every which direction. At other times this would seem so irresistibly cute to Emma but at this moment it disturbed her slightly. _

_He had been through so much recently that it was dangerous almost for him to stand up let along be making a cup of tea at this hour of the night. He was taking longer to heal due to only now having one heart and his body having gone through such a traumatic event. Emma had to re-stitch the large wound on his chest three times because he kept pulling at them in his sleep. Many times Emma had burst into his room to the sounds of him screaming and shouting out. Many times she had comforted him, telling him that his nightmares weren't real. The first time she thought had been a one off but as he woke up screaming every night Emma knew that this would go on for as long as it took for the Doctor's body to get over it just like it had taken time with her._

_Emma swore at if she ever saw that skulking, snide dung beetle called Sabbath again she would use the sonic screw driver to burn out his brain. _

_Even from looking at the Doctor's back she could see that it was taking all his strength to even stand. His shoulders were tight and bunched together as he grasped onto the unit to keep himself standing. The Doctor coughed and gasped at the pain that stabbed at his chest when he moved. _

_Emma walked quietly over to him, taking the kettle out of his hands then taking his hands in her own. One at a time she wrapped them around herself and then slipped her own around his waist. Emma did this as a means of comfort for him but also to let him rest, leaning on her so that he wouldn't have to struggle so hard to remain upright. The Doctor relaxed into her and nuzzled his face into her hair, sighing slightly._

_For a minute or two they both stood there as the Doctor leaned gently onto Emma and she gave him support, both enjoying the simple embrace and the moment of calm in what had been turbulent times._

_Emma could feel him leaning against her more and more now as his strength faded, his knees beginning to buckle from under him. Emma had to move quickly as she untangled herself, reluctantly, from the hug and led him out the door into the corridor. "I think it's about time you were back in your bed." she said softly as she put his arm over her shoulders._

_She concentrated hard as she walked along the halls and supported the Doctor so that he could walk. Emma had always found that if you thought about the room that you wanted to find hard enough then the TARDIS would rearrange the halls and rooms for you so that you could find it quicker._

_The TARDIS moved the Doctor's room closer to them and shortened the halls so that in no time at all Emma had arrived. It had also removed the hallway and the living room so that when they entered through the door they where already in the bedroom meaning that Emma wouldn't have to hold the Doctor up for much longer._

_Emma almost laughed out loud when she saw the steaming cup of Earl Grey tea sitting on the bed-side table. The TARDIS truly loved her Captain and hated to disappoint him. Unfortunately the Doctor was too near being unconscious to drink or eat anything so Emma decided to place a towel or something over it in a bit to keep it warm so that he could have it once he'd had some rest. "She really is a sentimental old fool." she whispered affectionately. _

_The young girl lowered the Doctor gently onto the bed, taking his arm away from her shoulders as she lowered him down further so that his head was on the crumpled up pillow. It was obvious that it had been bad dreams that had woken him because the bed covers where askew with the large patchwork quilt tossed onto the floor, pillows everywhere. _

_Emma lifted up the Doctor's legs which where now dangling over the side of the large four-poster bed and she tucked them underneath the covers. She pulled and billowed the sheets until they resembled being neat as she brought them up around him enough so that he wouldn't get cold. From the moment that the Doctor's head hit the pillow he was asleep, locks of his hair covering his eyes._

_On any other day he would look beautifully peaceful when he slept but now all the sadness and hurt he was feeling seeped through and showed on his face in sallow skin and tired eyes. His face was contorted and pale as if he were in great pain or as if he had just come across one of the most disturbing and harrowing secrets that one could only imagine._

_In the stillness of the room a silver tear rippled down her cheek from her hazel eyes as she brushed a few locks of hair from his face. In that moment she would have given anything just to ease his pain and see him smile again. The Doctor didn't deserve to suffer and endure such agony as this. There was simple silence all around and Emma almost fell off the bed when he called out in his sleep and her heart skipped a beat with fright. He called out a few incoherent words before he seemed to calm down again, mumbling as his breathing became more and more rapid._

_Emma took the Doctor's hand in hers and rubbed his palm gently with her thumbs and this seemed to calm him down but his breathing was still very rapid so Emma began to sing to him. She sang him a song that he hadn't heard since his mother had died._

"_River of dreams take me with you tonight_  
_Lying in your arms we'll drift to_  
_Islands of wonder that gleam and glow under the stars_  
_As we glide through the dark_  
_To the heart of the night_

_River of dreams gently hold me again_  
_I remember all you told me_  
_All of the secrets you whispered as we crept away_  
_From the daylight and melted back into the night_

_Was I awake_  
_Or did I dream_  
_The kiss of the waves_  
_The silver slipstream_

_That tumbles as it turns again towards the sea_

_River of dreams softly flowing away_  
_Let me follow where you are going_  
_And make me part of you_  
_Deep in the heart of you_  
_Let my reflection be clear_  
_In the water of life_  
_That tumbles as it turns again towards the night_

_That tumbles as it turns again towards the night."_

_That night the Doctor dreamed of being a child again and playing in the gardens of him home, the House of Lungburrow, with a little blonde haired girl. The sound of his mother's voice drifting through the air as she sang to herself. It was one of the best nights sleep he had ever had._

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Emma smiled into the Doctor's shoulder at the memory and held him tighter, him holding her tighter in return. Emma had never felt as relieved as she had when the Doctor had finally recovered and he had grown another heart to replace the one that had died with Sabbath. Although she had felt sad when the man himself had died to save others. Jumping into the Vortex.

The young woman put the thought from her mind as the Doctor pulled away slightly, still keeping his arms around her waist. For a minute Emma was very confused because of the hug and also because the Doctor was just smiling at her and saying nothing.

"Now don't get me wrong here. I love a cuddle as much as the next person but I still like to get to know what I'm getting hugged for." Emma was famous for her witty and sarcastic nature on many planets and in many different times and it was one of things about her that made the Doctor laugh.

The Doctor's smile was warm as he gazed down at her and he shrugged, "Not sure. You just looked like you needed a cuddle." his smile widened as his gaze fixed on hers.

Emma was now extremely aware of the Doctors' hands, splayed over her shoulder blades and as they had slowly made their way up from the small of her back. Her own were still on his waist and she just hoped to God that they weren't sweating. What a buzz kill to pull away from a man such as this only to find that you had left sweaty hand prints all over his lovely waistcoat.

She knew that he was slightly telepathic and she just hoped right now that another one of his other talents didn't evolve super sensitive hearing because her heart was jumping about all over the place inside of her and she so hoped that he didn't know.

Her heart started to race even more as the Doctor began to lean in towards her. That almost knowing smile on his face and his eyes twinkling. Could this be it, the moment she had envisioned and gone over so many times before in her head? Could he finally have noticed something about her? Was he actually going to kiss her?

All these thoughts flew around inside Emma's head, bouncing off the insides of her skull as the Doctor drew closer…and closer…until finally he planted a gentle kiss on her…cheek. Emma almost cried out in frustration and disappointment. She should have known that he was going kiss her cheek as that was just him. Kindly and gentleman like to the last. Sometimes Emma wished he'd cut out the chivalry and bloody well kiss her.

Emma sighed softly to herself as the Doctor gave her one last small hug before heading off out of the kitchen doorway. Leaving her standing in the middle of the kitchen as the kettle began to sing.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

The Doctor's hearts were beating so hard that he thought they would burst out of his chest if his heart rate didn't slow down. As a Time Lord the Doctor could think hundreds of thoughts almost all at the same time and right now his brain was buzzing so much that he felt like he couldn't concentrate. His head was spinning as he almost ran his way to the butterfly room.

He sighed as he closed the door behind him and sat on a patch of grass no far from it. The Doctor sighed again as he lay back and looked up at the sky.

He couldn't believe it. The Doctor really couldn't believe that if he hadn't of tilted his head of to the side at the last minute then it wouldn't have been Emma's cheek that he had kissed.

What was wrong with him? Why suddenly was the thought of kissing Emma one of the most appealing things in the world? The Doctor closed his eyes and breathed deeply, trying to put some rational thoughts back into his head and after a while his hearts slowed down and he could finally think in a straight line again.

When Fitz had told him about Emma the Doctor was more than surprised. Startled would be a good word to describe it frankly. He had stayed silent while Fitz had continued to talk, running over almost ever second that he had spent with Emma over the years for any indication that Emma had feelings for him. He found no such clues.

The Doctor had always wondered why a beautiful young woman like Emma didn't have suitors chasing her on every planet that they went to. There had been a few times but Emma had been quiet young at the time. Eventually Emma just didn't seem interested and the Doctor put it down to not wanting or missing something that you've never had. It was clear now that he had been completely wrong.

Fitz was actually right. For all the Doctors years and knowledge he couldn't even see things that were obvious to the rest of the world. Only a few minutes ago life had been so simple for the Doctor. He travelled round the universe and through time and space in his little piece of home with his companion and friend Fitz and his bestest friend in the world, Emma. They went everywhere, travelling, discovering the universe throughout time and found themselves in more than their fair share of dangerous situations.

How many times had they been in dangerous situations and the Doctor clasping onto Emma's hand as she turned to him. Her mouth open as if to say something and then only to be cut off completely as the Doctor finally figured out a way to escape and save them from certain death. The Doctor had never noticed that before. That Emma seemed to always be just beginning a sentence to tell him something very important and never getting to finish it.

It was only now as he lay in the still and quiet of the butterfly room that the Doctor realised that this was always the point where Emma was about to tell him how she felt before it was too late but she had always been cut off by him realising how to escape. What the Doctor couldn't understand was why she always waited until the last minute to try and tell him. The Doctor just guessed that she did this because he probably wouldn't have the time to answer back and so she would never have to fear of being rejected.

In a way he supposed that Emma was grateful for this. Grateful that he had stopped her before she said anything that she might of regretted doing later. But would she? Would he? The true question was what did the Doctor feel for Emma now that he knew her feelings.

What did he feel when he had looked at her in the bar the other night? He had felt a great pride knowing that he could be associated with such a girl…woman who could easily prove herself his equal in many different things. The Doctor also felt a deep caring for her like anyone who knew her would have but no…it was deeper than that.

It seemed evident to the Doctor that this problem, was just too complicated for him to solve.


End file.
